Global Voices » Amira Al Hussaini

Syria: “Revolution + Blood - Oil = Veto”

Amira Al Hussaini — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:43:17 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Netizens are still enraged over Saturday's double veto by Beijing and Moscow of the United Nations Security Council draft resolution on ending 11 months of violence in Syria.

Iyad El Baghdadi tweets that this inaction by the UN completely erodes the organisation's legitimacy among Arabs:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: The veto also completely demolishes in the Arab mind the idea that the UNSC has any legitimacy or indeed is of any use. #Syria

Syrian Alexander Page notes:

@AlexanderPageSY: #China's Veto at UNSC means that thousands more of #Syria's innocent civilians will die #BoycottChina4Syria #BoycottChina

And Palestinian Dima Khatib compares the reaction to the massacres in Syria today to that in the Gaddafi-era Libya:

@Dima_Khatib: Libya + Revolution + Blood + Oil = NATO bombs. Syria + Revolution + Blood - Oil = Veto

Foreign Policy Editor Blake Hounshell comments:

@blakehounshell: In a way, the Russo-Chinese veto absolves the West of responsibility for #Syria. Little will to intervene.

Syrian Revolution notes:

@RevolutionSyria: The veto is just allowing Syria to kill more people

Syrian children condemn the veto. Photograph from Facebook group Syrian Days of Rage

And Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi concludes:

@RedRazan: Veto or not, Assad will be toppled by the great people of #Syria.

Meanwhile, online activists have started a campaign to boycott Chinese products in retaliation against the Chinese veto. On Twitter, the campaign is run under the hash tag #BoycottChina4Syria.

Lina Tibi writes [ar]:

من أجل سوريا وشعبها واطفالها الذين يقتلون قاطعوا حق الفيتو الذي اعلنته الصين.. قاطعوا المنتجات الصينية

@LinaTibi: For the sake of Syria and its people and children, who are being killed, please boycott China's veto…Boycott Chinese products.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Egypt: Storify on Port Said Clashes

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:43:51 +0000

Greek blogger Asteris Masouras compiles a Storify round up of reactions and coverage following Wednesday's deadly Port Said clashes, which left more than 70 people dead in Egypt.

Egypt: Reactions to Revolution First Anniversary

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:55:36 +0000

Greek blogger Asteris Masouras shares this Storify collection to mark the first anniversary of the beginning of the Egyptian revolution on January 25. It includes links to news stories, photographs, videos and Twitter reactions.

Tunisia: The Evolution of Tunisian Propaganda

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:53:33 +0000

Tunisian blogger kefteji blogs about the “evolution of Tunisian propaganda,” charting the coverage of Tunisian French daily La Presse from December 17, 2010, until the fall of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011.

Syria: Netizens Angered by Assad's Speech

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:21:57 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad gave a long rambling speech today, which further angered Syrians protesting against his dictatorship.

He spoke about a foreign conspiracy, or several of them, the meddling of the Arab League in his country's affairs and how much Syrians were supportive of his regime. In his speech, he promised both reform, just as he did in past speeches, and also revenge against protesters - more than 5,000 of whom have been killed since protests started in Syria in March.

When Arab leaders speak, netizens take to their keyboards and engage in taking a stab at heads of states who put themselves in such a position. Here is a round up of reactions from Twitter as Al Assad addressed his people - the same people being killed for protesting for democratic rights.

Mohammed Al Dahshan, from Egypt, tweets [ar]:

‏ واضح أن بيبو الأسد مش فاهم معنى كلمة معارضة إيه أساسا. بجد مش معقول إعادة التعريف الللغوي اللي بيعمله حكام العرب

@eldahshan: It is clear that Assad does not understand the basic meaning of opposition. Seriously, the way Arab leaders are reinterpreting the Arabic language is impossible to comprehend.

And he comments on the theatrics which usually accompany Assad's speeches, which are interrupted with applauses, saying:

@eldahshan: So you think the applause is prerecorded, like sitcoms keda? :) #assadspeech RT @maimoghli @eldahshan I dont think there is audience anyway!

As Assad continued to speak, so did the confusion of netizens.

Syrian Muhammed Basheer asks [ar]:

قبل شوي قال مافي معارضة قبل الانتخابات ولازم يكون في معارضة لها قاعدة شعبية! هلأ قال بعض قوى المعارضة حاورت! شو يعني؟ ‎#Syria‏

@MBAA: A few minutes ago he said there was no opposition before the elections and that there had to be opposition with a popular base! Now he is saying that the opposition is engaged in a dialogue. What is he saying?

Lebanese Antoun Issa comments:

@antissa: #AssadSpeech exceedingly confident in his speech. Doesn't appear conciliatory by any means.

While LibyanStateTV quips:

@LibyanStateTV: Bashar should have asked himself “What would Gaddafi Do?”, and perhaps this would have produced a better speech #AssadSpeech

Jordanian Nadine Toukan tweets:

@nadinetoukan: Assad is clearly convinced he lives in fiction. #Syria

And Syrian Wissam Tarif adds:

@wissamtarif: Al Assad is talking as if he will be in power for ever #Syria

Many Twitter users translated and posted quotes from Assad's speech online as he spoke. Among them is Sultan Al Qasseemi, from the UAE, who had enough. He states:

@SultanAlQassemi: I can't watch this crazy person any longer. Switching TV off.

And to cap it all, Saudi Ahmed Al Omran, a production assistant for NPR, just tweeted:

@ahmed: On the same day of Bashar al-Assad's speech, at least 28 people killed in Syria according to the latest death toll provided by LCC.

The LCC is the Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

In a follow up tweet, he writes:

@ahmed: Can I get a T-shirt that says “I survived a whole speech by Bashar al-Assad”?

Stay tuned for more coverage from Syria.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Lebanon: Nasawiya Call to March Against Rape Laws

Amira Al Hussaini — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:56:22 +0000

Nasawiya, an initiative committed to gender justice and equality in Lebanon, is calling upon netizens to mobilise the “masses to join the march against Lebanon’s backwards rape laws on January 14 at 12pm from Ministry of Interior in Sanayeh.” “Please help us spread the word by blogging about the demo or putting up one of the web banners below on your blog,” it adds.

Egypt: Revolutionary Stencils

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:48:42 +0000

On Flickr, evianoo shares those revolutionary stencils.

Iraq: 162,000 People Killed

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:30:15 +0000

Iraqi Mojo says about 162,000 people were killed in Iraq up to the end of last year (2011). They include 114,212 civilians, according to Iraq Body Count, an anti-war group. Click here for the details.

UAE: Several Islamists' Citizenships Revoked

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:39:24 +0000

The UAE has revoked the citizenship of several Islamists. Sultan Al Qassemi has more in this blog post.

New Qatar Envoy Appointed in Libya

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:31:49 +0000

Qatar has appointed a new envoy to Libya. Sultan Al Qassemi, a commentator from the UAE, sheds more light on Qatari-Libyan relations since the beginning of the Libyan uprising in February under the subtitles: The Marriage, The Honeymoon and The Divorce.

Israel: Protest Against the Deportation of Children of Migrant Workers

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:21:02 +0000

On Facebook, Elizabeth Tsurkov shares this set of photographs she took during a protest held against the deportation of the children of migrant workers in Tel Aviv, Israel, tonight.

Bahrain: Journalist Mazen Mahdi Detained, then Released

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:14:37 +0000

Bahraini journalist Mazen Mahdi tweets that he was detained by police today, and later on released. The Committee to Protect Journalists says the Middle East political turmoil and protests is proving to be deadly for journalists.

Arab World: Best of Arab Blogs

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:17:31 +0000

OpenDemocracy shares its list of the Best of Arab blogs here. Check out their list, which includes blogs from Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Morocco, by clicking the link above.

Egypt: A Letter from Maikel Nabil

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:19:44 +0000

No Military Trials for Civilians, a collective blog aimed at raising awareness about the military trial of civilians in Egypt, publishes a must read post by jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil, who has been on hunger strike for more than 120 days.

Lebanon: Electric Xmas Decorations

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:58:28 +0000

From Lebanon, Habib Battah draws our attention to Christmas decorations in Lebanon, where the decorations are lit and and the electricity in the street lamps is switched off during the night, and on during the day. Check out the photographs accompanying the post.